Where Mundane Becomes Magic

It’s Lughnasadh. The corn (wheat) is being picked as people celebrate the first harvest of bounty. The Sun is hot over head but a cool breeze grazes and soothes hot skin.

It’s Samhain. The air is chilly and the roads echo with the scraping sound of dead leaves as they swirl in the cold winds. The scent of smoke and damp leaves remind you that the dead will soon be walking the very roads you walk.

It’s Yule. The snow falls heavy and blankets the land, reminding you to keep to your fires, your friends, and your kin close. To celebrate the light that will be returning, to celebrate the winter that let’s you take ease to replenish your energy.

Following the seasons, living with the ebb and flow of nature….that’s what we all dream of when we read pagan books about the sabbats and why we celebrate them, even down to what we eat and serve at rituals. We flow our life and our bodies to the rhythm of nature’s cycle.

Or so we’re told.

But for a lot of pagans, this following of the seasons isn’t possible. For people like me, there are no seasons. Not really.

Imagine that for a moment. No spring, no winter, no fall. Just perpetual heat scattered with a few weeks a year where it might turn cold, it might rain for a day, it might get a cool breeze.

I don’t have to eat seasonally because I live in a place where produce grows happily year round. I live in a place where it’s too hot–even in the winter–to eat heavy, wintry fair unless you’ve got a craving.

It can be very hard to ‘follow the seasons’ and ‘eat seasonally’ when you live with even temperatures and never ending food. It’s easy to get lost in what you should grow when, because it almost doesn’t matter.

I can grow tomatoes in December you guys.

And thanks to global warming, the temperatures here have only gotten warmer–have extended our growing seasons (which creates a whole other set of problem) –and makes our winters, falls, and springs even shorter than they already were.

So feeling the magical flow of the seasons is incredibly hard, and can make you feel (at least for me) disassociated from all those lovely prose in pagan books about changing leaves and quiet blankets of snow, and all the magical spells that come with that season.

How do you add snow to the ritual you’re trying to copy if you don’t live with/near snow?

I feel this is a problem pagan authors don’t always address. Perhaps because they’re lucky enough to live in regions where they have seasons!

But for us luckless souls who don’t really have them, here are my tips for dealing with rituals and holidays when your climate doesn’t fit the season:

1. Forgive yourself if you just don’t ‘feel’ it. The world won’t end and you won’t have eternal bad luck, and the gods won’t hate you for missing a holiday. If they did, you’d have been a lot worse off early in life don’t you think?

2. If you really do want to feel the season and be in tune with the cycles of the earth, then I strongly recommend gardening, or at least making a journal observing the weather every day. Boring? Maybe. But as you write it down you may also notice subtle changes happening that mark the turning of the seasons, and helps you connect with nature and feel the pull more. Regardless of the fact that I can grow things year round, during winter there are definitely plants of mine that slow down or stop producing for a bit around winter. Which is a fun reminder for me to slow down!

3. If you really want to east seasonally, you can. No one is saying you can’t eat lamb stew in December even if it’s 90 degrees outside. If you want to eat winter food during winter where it’s hot outside because it makes you feel closer to the season and the holiday you’re celebrating–go for it! Just don’t hate yourself for eating ‘spring time’ food in it’s place. It’s okay. You’re not gonna get smited by the gods.

4. If you’re blessed to live near nature that has seasons, go visit it. For instance, I live 2 hours away from snow. If I really wanted to, I could go up during Yule to celebrate with the season. I could also go to another state in the fall to see leaves change and camp out in nature for a few days and hold a ritual. It all depends on what you’re willing to do–and how far. If the farthest you want to go is a picture of snow that’s okay too!

5. Meditate. No, seriously. Meditate on the season. Imagine the air and the smells and tastes that you associate with it. Visualize it. By doing so, you might be able to kick your body’s gear into syncing up to the seasons again!

I hope these tips have helped! I personally listen to my body. Some days I can really feel the seasons changing deep in me and other times I don’t. I’ve literally felt the wind blow on my face and I was slammed with the thought “Fall is here.” I didn’t know what day it was and I looked at my BOS. Low and behold, it was September 21st. Mabon. I hadn’t even realized! I’ve also completely not done rituals because I felt NOTHING (like this year with Lughnasadh/Lammas).

But at the end of the day, how you celebrate and what you chose to celebrate is up to you. Our world is a different world than the one our ancestors had–the weather is warmer, the seasons are out of wack. So give yourself some breathing room–It’s okay if you’re not perfectly in sync with the weather!

While my recipe is neither of those things, I think it’s something that’s almost as important!

We all have days (or weeks, am I right?!) where we feel we’re not good enough or pretty/handsome enough, or funny enough, or really ENOUGH. And that’s no way to think about yourself OR your life. Because you’re none of those negative thoughts you tell yourself. Would you talk to your friend the way you talk to yourself? NO. You are YOUR friend too–so talk to yourself like you would talk to your best friend and leave those negative comments about yourself behind!

It’s my hope that this drink I’ve created will help put your mind back in it’s right frame of mind so that you can start your day off with positive thoughts about yourself, and confidence in WHO. YOU. ARE.

There is no other you, and the world needs you. Yes, YOU. The people in your life need you, and you have a purpose in life–and that is to LIVE. Whether you like it or not, you touch and influence someone’s (or multiple someone’s) life everyday. You matter, you are unique, and you are NEEDED AND LOVED.

Self-love Coffee

you will need:
Pink Coffee Mug (or really any coffee mug that makes you feel happy!)Coffee- Helps dispel negative thought forms and overcome internal blockages Cloves- For Self Confidence (use 1 teaspoon to the coffee for each cup you’re making. So if you’re making 2 cups of coffee in your coffee machine, add 2 tsp cloves)Cinnamon- Increases effectiveness of any mixture it’s added to (add in 1 tablespoon for every cup)Allspice- Adds strength of will, determination, and perseverance (add in 3 tsp for every cup)Directions:

Before doing any kitchen magic (aka, making this coffee!) remember to light a candle to a hearth goddess–a tealight will do– and place it on the stove. Then take a few deep breaths to bring your focus to the goal for the day, which is coffee for self love so you have confidence in yourself and your words and your actions!

Put your coffee grounds in a bowl and stir counter clockwise (to release) with your kitchen wand (aka a wooden spoon you’ve blessed and use specifically for magical cooking) . Inhale the scent and with each breath and stir imagine the scent brushing away negative words you’ve said to yourself or your appearance or even your personality.

Next add in the cloves and stir clockwise (to bring in). Put into your mind, an image of you being happy, speaking easily to people, being happy/proud of you in your body size, shape, and personality. Imagine a scene if you want, of what you image yourself to be/act like in your minds eye.

Add in the allspice and stir clockwise. This is important. Pause here. Really, really focus on this image you’ve created. Of you happy, confident, of people and friends responding positively to you. Of you making a funny joke or cheering someone up. Of you being able to flirt with some one you find cute and it going well. But infuse in this though with this spice as you stir, YOUR WILL. Your belief. That you CAN do this and that this version of you that you made and want to be IS what you are.

Lastly, add in the cinnamon and stir clockwise. This herb will boost your energy and intention that you’re stirring into your coffee.

Take a moment now to put your hands over your mixture, eyes closed. Ask your goddess to aid you in your vision, hold that vision of the you, you want to be. Hold it and believe it OF YOURSELF. Not some distant thing you’ll be someday, BUT WHO YOU ARE RIGHT NOW.

Send that image and positive energy into the mixture and when you feel it’s time, say firmly “AS I WILL IT, SO MOTE IT BE.”

Put your coffee mixture into your coffee filter and make coffee as normal. Add in sugar for love and sweetness and milk (or creamer/half & half) for healing of your heart and aura, if you wish.

Remember to stir in clockwise, to bring in positive energy, AND ENJOY!

Like this:

Hello my witchlings! It’s been…Oh my gods it’s been practically a year since the last post! Well then! Um. I suppose I should update you all right? You care about that stuff right?

…….

I’m going to pretend you all nodded your heads excitedly.

This past year has been more crazy and busy than the year before it! My book that got picked up? That wasn’t the only one. Early this year another book of mine got picked up, and I’m in the process of being a writer for a comic, finishing another book, and preparing to deal with edits for my second book that got picked up!

I suppose now is a good time to mention that the most recent book that got picked up is also going to be pitched to studios for TV.

So perhaps you can see why I’ve been so busy and well, absent here on this blog.

Like I said last year, sometimes your religion has to take a back seat to life.

But not entirely.

Starting in January I finally started getting back into the swing of my craft. I started feeling magical again. Ready. I started it off with a tarot reading here, a candle magic spell there. And then came the Double Blue Moons and an extra strong New Moon. I knew I had to do a spell, something urged me to–and when your intuition knocks, you have to answer the door.

I found a website with a little but (as it turned out) powerful New Moon spell that was to be completed on the last double Full Moon. To say the spell worked would be an understatement. That spell is the reason so many good things are happening in my life.

Well, that and my hard work. But the gods heard my call, saw my focus and commitment and seriousness in which I was asking for their aid, and accepted it. They helped make the road easier for me. Suddenly things were happening–big things. Book deals, comic deals, all the deals!

But I had to learn to say yes–to not be afraid of my future or the work it would require.

Am I still afraid? Kinda.

But I know the gods wouldn’t have taken my commitment and helped remove roadblocks if they didn’t have confidence in me–and if I didn’t have it in myself.

My hardcore magical life has had to take a back seat thanks my normal one, but when I do spells and rituals now I do it with a confidence and assurance I hadn’t had before. I do them less, but they’re more powerful.

I’ve also felt the need to be in a pagan community–not just by myself anymore. Finding a good community can be hard even in the best of times, but here’s to hoping that I’ll be finding myself in the company lovely people again soon!

I hope you’ve all been well and are having as much luck as I have! I’ve been more active on my tumblr (oops) than I have here, but I’m going to try to remedy that! I’ll be posting things about Litha once a week leading up to the day that I do the ritual! I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you for being patient with me, I truly from the bottom of my heart, appreciate it!

Like this:

Hello my witchlings! It’s been a long LONG time since I last posted. At least several months. I’m sure you’re wondering where I’ve been–and maybe you haven’t because life moves on and months away on the internet is tantamount to years, I know!

I could tell you I’ve been off on a spiritual journey, taking classes on karma and meditation and becoming a 3rd degree Wiccan.

But I wasn’t.

To be honest, a lot of crazy (mostly good, some not as great) things have happened. In my mundane life a book of mine got picked up and published, and I started writing even more books. It was awesome. But what ended up happening was that magic had to take a back seat. And more than that, I woke up one day and realized I felt super disconnected with the flow of the universe and the mysterious. It was just….dormant. Not gone, but asleep. Faraway.

I wasn’t too worried about it at first. All witches have times like that. Days or weeks where they just don’t have the drive or feel the connection. But then those days and weeks turned into a month, and then two and then three…..and I began to worry. Why couldn’t I connect? Why was the ‘spark’ gone? Waking up and being excited to do a mediation or do a magical project? Hell, I even felt incredibly disconnected from celebrating Full Moons and big holidays like Beltane (one of my favorite holidays!).

I felt awful. I still ran a ritual with friends for Litha, but the power, the feeling of connectedness…it just wasn’t there. I was in a forest and I’d lost my way.

Honestly, I’m still feeling that way. But it’s less. I’m feeling a bit more of the spark coming back. An ember, but at least a hot ember that will hopefully turn into a merry fire again.

So here’s the thing though: You can’t force magic. You can’t force your feelings. And your spiritual practice (no matter what path it is) shouldn’t feel like a chore. It shouldn’t be ‘something you have to do. UGH.” If you’re feeling that way STEP AWAY.

Allow yourself to feel that way. Try not to feel guilty (I say try because I know how hard it is to NOT feeling guilty!). Sometimes you need the break. That’s okay. Just like the seasons, just like the moon, there is waxing and waning. A season for all things. And sometimes that change means spirituality takes a back seat.

Sometimes the mundane life has to (and does) take precedence. I’m not saying your practice and beliefs aren’t as important, but getting bills paid, chasing your dream, making things happen….sometimes that needs to come first. Spirit isn’t going to get mad at you smite you with lightening. They’re not there for that. They’re there to help you.

That’s been a hard lesson for me to learn–especially since it’s been so many months. But I don’t want my beliefs to feel like a chore, and for the past few months they’ve felt that way, and I admit it.

But thankfully I think the cloud is starting to lift, becoming more overcast than thick mist, and I think I’ll soon find my way through the forest.

How about you guys? Do you find yourself ever disconnected with your practice for months at a time? Do you feel guilty? How do you get back into the groove? Or does it just come back in one blinding instant? This witch wants to know!

Like this:

T’was the night before Samhainand all through the houseThe spirits were risingready to pounce…

Samhain. All Souls Day. Dia de los muertos. Halloween. No matter which country you go to, this time of year has always been for the dead. A time to reap and thank the last of the crops and those you’ve stored, and a time to honor the ancestors as the veil drops and their voices are easier to be heard.

It’s one of my favorite holidays–right up there with Beltane and Yule! There’s something to be said about honoring and remembering the past. About remembering where your blood, talents, and even habits come from. For a brief time, if you’re lucky enough, you can have a chance to speak or see (in any capacity) a relative you never met but wanted to–or never even knew existed!

This Halloween (2017) falls the day after a New Moon. Some books may tell you not to do anything magical on a new moon as there’s no energy. Some will say you should sacrifice fresh blood. And others say you should just kick back with a martini and do whatever the hell you want because energy is energy and doesn’t need to follow no moon cycle thank-you-very-much!

Personally I find New Moons to be a perfect time for banishing. Banishing old energy, emptying the trash, organizing things and using your besom to sweep up annoying energies trying to collect in the corners of your house. Throw it all out to the void of the moon. This worked perfectly for me since I tend to lean to the Celtic side of tradition and Samhain is the New Year in Celtic days. So starting fresh is perfect! Plus, and I won’t lie, it means one less ritual like thing to do ON Samhain (I’m lazy, what can I say!?). And it’s perfect timing as well because it means I have a fresh slate to use my Sabbat Box order!

Now, if you haven’t heard of it, there’s a wonderful site called Sabbat Box. It’s a box that you can sign up for and they have different plans and prices (I would also like to note, they aren’t paying me for this, I’m writing about it of my own free will!). They’re a small company and so popular that I had to be a waiting list for 2 months before I got in! And I’ve loved EVERY BOX I’VE GOTTEN. I actually ended up using the incense in the box a day early to send up a protection ward on my house. The rest I’ll be using tomorrow when I do my Solitary Samhain Ritual.

I actually really look forward to opening the box because they include a phamplet with lots of info and ideas for the Sabbat of the month AND it smells nice!

And when you open it, it looks like this!

Now they give you a lot of things, and in it they give you a lot of ideas on how to use the products they give you. If you’re a seasoned witch like me, you kind of have your own ideas. But they included something I never thought I’d see–let alone knew how to use–graveyard dust! Turns out you can use it to either a) call on the ancestors to be present or b)use it for protection. Lord knows this new house I moved into needs protection, I have an active portal in it! (Why am I constantly cursed with flipping portals?! WHY!?)

This package included not only graveyard dust, but Four Thieves Vinegar to put incredibly strong protective boundaries around the house (which I’m going to do, believe you me!), oil to call on your higher self to better hear those spirits and gods, incense, a protection poppet, and two skull candles which I’m going to light at my ancestor alter tomorrow! I’m SO excited!

If you’re like me (and maybe you are) you might find yourself ‘alone’ for Samhain. No fun circle to go to, no coven that you’re a part of….and if you’re also like me and super extroverted–it sucks! But rather than roll over in my grave (get it? Get it!? ’cause it’s Halloween? Haha?) I’m determined to use it as a time of self reflection and to take time to really really focus on my intentions and the voices of the ancestors, spirits, gods, or whoever decides to pay me a visit!

I’ll be writing up a follow up of the ritual (and recipes!) and posting it up Wednesday. In the mean time I’ll leave you with a few ideas of what you can do Halloween night if you find yourself alone like me.

For Solitary witches who can freely practice:

-turn a tabletop into an altar for your ancestors by covering it with a black cloth and place their pictures (or pictures of beloved pets that crossed the veil) there. Light a tea light candle in front of each one to welcome them in.

-Do a ritual acknowledge the passing and death of the year

-Give yourself a tarot reading for the year to come

-Cleanse your house and put up new protective boundaries

For Solitary witches who have to hide their practice (If it has a * symbol, it means you can also do this as a witch who doesn’t have to hide):

-Clear a space on a table and put pictures up of your relatives you wish to join you (your family wont think you’re weird I promise!). If you CAN, light a tealight to welcome them.

-Carve a pumpkin*!

-When parents are asleep and if you have tarot cards (or runes, or ogahm), give yourself a reading for the coming year!

Like this:

Hello my witchlings and wizardlings (those are totally titles, right? Totally.)! It’s been a while but that’s because my mundane life has been…well…kinda crazy! So crazy in fact that magic and meditation had to take a backseat! And you know what? That’s okay.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s to not beat myself up if I slack off in the magic department. Not because I’m disrespectful to it or don’t cherish it, but because the gods understand. We’re human. Life happens. Sometimes if your house is on fire you gotta leave the shrine to Ganesh behind, you know? They’re not gonna get mad at you for not saving a statue!

Just like they won’t get mad at you for not celebrating every holiday or observe every Full Moon. Breath. It’s okay. Zeus won’t strike you with a lightening bolt.

……….

Okay HE might, but others won’t, I promise!

But the thing I always listen to (or try to) 24/7 is my intuition, and by doing that I live a magical life even if I don’t get to do some of the bigger stuff. Tonight for some reason (but there’s always a reason, right?), my intuition pulled my attention to chakras. Probably because I need cleansing and to balance myself out! Hey I’m a cusp sign, what can I say?

While the path I chose doesn’t often cross over into Hinduism or Buddhism for that matter, I do believe in chakras (not that I don’t believe Hinduism or Buddhism isn’t real! It’s just not a path I pursue in my craft.). But apparently somewhere in me something is out of alignment or blocked. And the moment I realized I need to make a space to meditate and clear my chakras I suddenly felt calm. Centered. Magically grounded and aware in a way I haven’t felt in months!

So while you may feel bad if you missed a major holiday, or aren’t meditating everyday, or not pulling tarot cards every day because life is just gogogooo, that’s okay. Life happens. There are a million little ways you can keep magic in your life during the times that you can’t be that magical. Here are a few ideas for you!

1) Keep your altar (if you can) In a place you can see it so you can at least give it a nod before rushing off.

2) Sage (or use a cleansing mister) your house every once in a while

3) Keep some quartz in a bowl in your living room to keep the energy up

4) Ring a bell to clear the air

5) if you’re making food pause for a moment and put some loving energy into it (even if you’re just warming up frozen pizza for dinner!) so that others can have some love!

Like this:

Last night in a dream I had to face one of the most stressful fears in my life (at the moment). It’s something that’s inevitable in my life and something that causes me a lot of fear. In my dream I literally screamed and raged and did everything I could to not let it happen. And it still did. I woke up with a pounding heart and a pounding heart.

I had decided that I was going to focus on Hunting today for my intent, but the gods had other ideas. I lit my candle and incense and took a deep breath. I cast out my intent for Hunting and the gods quickly butted in and said, “remember courage.” I couldn’t concentrate well until I did! So I amended it and added courage.

You may wonder why on earth I would choose hunting! I certainly don’t kill animals nor enjoy it. But it wasn’t the actual hunting I focused on. I focused on what it takes to hunt. High levels of focus, concentration, being at one with the environment, patience. It takes all these things and more to be a good hunter. You need to know yourself, know your weapon, the animal you wish to hunt.

And of course, courage.

You can’t hunt without courage. So I focused my intent for the day. To have the courage to hunt after my goals, to keep my eyes on it like a hunter on a deer and not let myself get distracted by things around me. To breath. To have the courage to loosen my bow. Or in this case, to focus on my writing and aim for publication despite my fears of how it’ll turn out. To not let the fear of the inevitability in my life distract me. But to also face it. To not shirk from it. Like when an animal realizes your there and stares you dead in the eye.

Do you have the courage to face it and still loosen your bow?

So today I hope you can all have a little of qualities of a Hunt can bring. Will you focus on your goals and not let things distract you from them? To quiet the world around you and focus intently? Will you have the courage to even go for your goal, or face up to your fears so that you can start the hunt to begin? I hope you do! Heck, I hope I do!